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Coral

Colonial corals

These corals are known as ‘starred agate’ because their cross-section forms a star shape. They are a colonial coral, that is, they live together to form a structure much larger than the individuals that make it up. These are also reef building corals that today, form coral reefs. They are quite unlike solitary corals (see lower photo) that grow on hard surfaces such as bare rock. The corals were made of calcium carbonate, but this was replaced by silica during fossilisation.

Brittle star

Reading the remains

These two brittle stars are from the ‘Starfish Bed’ between Eype and Seatown. Over the last two centuries, hundreds of similar fossils have been recovered from huge fallen blocks on the beach. Many, like the one on the right, have three legs pointing or trailing in broadly the same direction. The other two legs are also bent round in that direction. This suggests that there was a current flowing across the sea floor when these animals were buried, from right to left in this image.

Look above the right-hand specimen and you'll see the ghostly outline of another brittle star. This could be a resting trace where a starfish left an impression in the sea bed before being washed away.

The other specimen has been damaged by animals that have burrowed through the sediment after the brittle star was buried.

Conifer branch

These are the preserved fronds of conifer trees that grew in the forests at the beginning of the Cretaceous period, 145 million years ago.

Elephant tusk

An excavation for building sand at Dewlish, between Dorchester and Blandford, uncovered a narrow fissure containing the bones of an elephant. The Dewlish elephant tusk is the most spectacular specimen recovered and is mounted on a massive wood and plaster block which is almost too large to move.

Bivalve

Good enough to eat?

These oysters are similar to the common Gryphaea oysters, but with a much flatter shell. They can grow in great profusion and litter the beaches below Sandsfoot Castle when storms have scoured away the sand along the Portland Harbour Shore. You can tell they are oysters by the finely layered shell. These are so clean and so well preserved it's almost possible to imagine slurping up the soft parts in an expensive restaurant!

Shark tooth

Spare teeth

A shark’s skeleton is made of cartilage and that is rarely fossilised. The teeth, however, are quite commonly fossilised because they are hard and resistant to erosion. Many shark teeth are found as fossils because each shark had lots of teeth in its mouth, and frequently shed and replaced them.

Crocodilian vertebrae and pelvis

We can tell that these are crocodile vertebrae because they are quite thin towards the centre. This ‘bow-tie' appearance sets them apart from most other reptile vertebrae, although dinosaur backbones do look quite similar.

Gastropod

Pleurotomaria is a highly ornamented snail, and one of nature's true survivors as they can still be found alive in the oceans today.

Ichthyosaur

As big as they get?

This specimen is one of the largest Ichthyosaurs found in the Lower Lias around Lyme Regis.

'Kevin' was found in 2005 by museum geologist Paddy Howe, during phase II of the ongoing sea defence works. He was supervising the digging as part of the palaeontological watching brief.

The specimen was named in memory of one the workmen - Kevin Wyle - who was killed in a motorcycle accident on his way home from the site the night before Paddy found the first bones. A memorial plaque stands on Marine Parade, near the spot where the Ichthyosaur was found.

Ammonite

Rainbow colours

These ammonites are very crushed, but show the beautiful iridescence of the aragonite shell. They come from the Somerset coast near Minehead. Iridescent ammonites like these are very rare on the Dorset coast. The fine layers that make up the shell have been preserved and they scatter light to produce the rainbow colours.

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Welcome to the Jurassic Coast Fossil Finder

From exquisite starfish and elegant ammonites, to terrifying teeth and pre-historic poo…The Jurassic Coast museums have a fantastic collection of fossils for you to explore.

The Fossil Finder is a database of almost 1,000 fossils from museums in Dorset and East Devon. Most specimens were found on the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site.

The Fossil Finder presents photos of these specimens, together with important details and fascinating facts. We hope it will be an invaluable resource for you, whether you're an absolute beginner or an avid fossilist.

When you've found your favourite fossils on the website, you can visit the museums to see the real thing. Please note: If you want to see a specific fossil, contact the museum beforehand to check that it's on display, or to arrange a viewing.

Focus on Fossils

From brachiopods to bivalves, molluscs to mammals, use Focus on Fossils to find out everything you need to know about the different fossil groups.

Can you tell us more?

Many of the fossils in our collections came to the museum with little or no background information. If you know more about any of our fossils, or can enhance our content, please contact
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Jurassic Coast Museums Partnership

The database is funded by Arts Council England and supported by Dorset County Council. It's one of several projects launched by the Jurassic Coast Museums Partnership (JCMP) to raise the profiles of the museums. It follows the highly successful 'Collecting Cultures' scheme funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, which secured exceptional new fossils for the museums.